Berkshire Replaces Raba as Buffet Sees Housing Rebound

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. replaced the head of a building-products unit with $2.5 billion in annual sales as Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett prepares the company for a U.S. housing rebound. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. replaced the
head of a building-products unit with $2.5 billion in annual
sales as Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett prepares the
company for a U.S. housing rebound.

Todd Raba, 55, will “relinquish” his position as chairman
and CEO of Johns Manville, the Denver-based company said today
in a statement. Mary Rhinehart, 54, who has served as chief
financial officer, was named CEO, effective immediately, the
unit of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said.

Raba “worked diligently during a tough economic
environment to effectively position the company for future
success,” Buffett, 82, said in the statement. Melody Dunbar, a
spokeswoman for Johns Manville, declined to comment on the
reason for the departure.

Rhinehart will oversee a unit with about 7,000 employees
and 45 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and
China. Johns Manville makes insulation and roofing and has
customers in the aerospace, automotive and building industries.
The new CEO has been with the company more than 30 years.

“I couldn’t be more enthused to have her taking on this
role,” Buffett said.

Raba had led the insulation-maker for the past five years
and in 2011 added the chairman title following David Sokol’s
departure from Berkshire. Sokol, who served as chairman of
Berkshire’s energy, luxury aviation and Johns Manville units,
left after disclosing that he purchased stock in Lubrizol Corp.
before recommending the company as a takeover target to Buffett.

Raba had worked under Sokol at Berkshire’s MidAmerican
Energy Holdings Co. In August, he announced the acquisition of
Industrial Insulation Group, which was previously a joint
venture between Johns Manville and Calsilite Group.

‘Better Balance’

Buffett said in July that the U.S. home market was
beginning to improve. Berkshire’s billionaire leader tracks
economic activity, in part, by studying the results of the
company’s more than 70 operating businesses including ones that
make paint and bricks.

“It was just a question of getting households in balance
with” the supply of homes, Buffett told Bloomberg Television’s
Betty Liu in a July 13 interview. “That happens in different
paces in different parts of the country, but you have seen a
much better balance developing here in recent months. And that’s
why you’re seeing some pickup in prices.”

The paint unit, Benjamin Moore, hired Bob Merritt to
replace Denis Abrams in June. Berkshire’s CORT Business Services
Corp., the world’s largest provider of rental furniture, has
named Jeff Pederson CEO, replacing Paul Arnold, who stepped down
in July after a 40-year career at the company.